Cape Town Marathon part of exciting new Championships

Updated: September 11, 2018

Abbott World Marathon Majors Wanda Age Group World Rankings will officially launch on Sunday when the 45th BMW Berlin Marathon marks the start of the one-year qualification period for the inaugural AbbottWMM Wanda Age Group World Championships which will take place in 2020.

The third event to follow in the series is Africa’s very own Sanlam Cape Town Marathon, taking place on 23 September, which is an exhilarating festival of running that brings together runners, elite athletes, social joggers and surrounding communities.

Participants in an AbbottWMM Wanda Age Group World Ranking qualifying race will be able to earn themselves points according to their age, time and gender, to create a global series throughout the year.

There will be more than 50 qualifying events from different parts of the world from Cape Town to Mumbai, Tel Aviv to Toronto and Houston to Helsinki, giving runners across the globe a chance to be part of a new era of age group marathon running.

‘More than 125,000 runners aged 40+ participate in AbbottWMM races each year and this new system will allow even more runners to become a part of the AbbottWMM family. We are proud to be working with all our partners to take age group marathon running to the next level and showcase the achievements of these everyday champions,’ said Tim Hadzima, Executive Director of Abbott WMM.

The premier AbbottWMM Wanda Age Group World Championships will be held as part of the Virgin Money London Marathon in 2020, which welcomes more than 40 000 runners to the start line each year. Runners can earn a place at the start line of the London Marathon through the AbbottWMM Wanda Age Group World Rankings, and represent their countries.

Olympian and race ambassador for the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon, Elana van Zyl-Meyer said: ‘This is a huge endorsement for Africa’s iconic city marathon, as it solidifies our place on the world ranking stage. We’re thrilled to be a part of this spectacular series and look forward to welcoming even more senior age group participants to Africa’s only IAAF Gold Label status marathon.’

Abbott, who renewed their title sponsorship of the AbbottWMM in April 2018, extending their partnership to 2023, are proud to be a part of the expansion of mass participation marathon running globally.

‘We’re thrilled to help recognize the efforts of marathon runners as they strive to lead their age groups and achieve their personal health goals,’ said Chris Miller, divisional vice president, global brand strategy and Innovation, Abbott.

The 10-year partnership between Abbott World Marathon Majors and Wanda was announced in April 2017, and have since then made up calendar events for the inaugural World Championships, with plans for many more events to be added in the coming years.

Hengming Yang, CEO of Wanda Sports Group said, ‘As a strategic partner we are very proud that we can help develop the running experience of age group runners across the globe.